Medscape's 2023 report on nurse satisfaction found most would follow the same educational path if they could do it over again. Still, a significant portion of respondents pointed to serious workplace issues that, if left unresolved, could push some to pursue other roles within or outside of nursing.
The report is based on a poll of 7,303 nurses conducted between April 20 and July 30. The respondents included full-time registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists and nurse midwives.
Six findings:
- Seventy-two percent of nurses said they would follow the same educational path again, including 27% who indicated they would choose both the same education and practice setting if they could do it over.
- Overall, about one quarter of NPs, RNs, LPNs, CRNAs and NMs said they would not choose nursing again. When this group was asked about their plans, the top selected response was "pursue a new path within nursing" (26%), followed by "retire earlier than planned" (21%) and "leave the nursing profession for a new career" (17%).
- "Helping people/making a difference in their lives" was the top selected response among RNs (27%) and LPNs (28%) when asked what they find most rewarding about their jobs.
- Meanwhile, "administration/workplace politics" was the top selected response when RNs (21%) and LPNs (17%) were asked about the least rewarding aspects of their jobs. Among NPs, the top response was documentation.
- Seventy-two percent of respondents indicated they had experienced verbal abuse from patients in the past year. Nearly 30% said they've experienced verbal abuse from physicians and 21% from management.
- Among nurses who said they reported sexual, physical, emotional or verbal abuse to their supervisor in the past year, 59% said it was not resolved to their satisfaction.